Is ebay the only place..............

To find equipment for sale? Surely there has got to be something other than ebay to have a good selection of equipment for sale on the internet. I am always checking ebay out, and at first glance you think there is a lot on there (mowers and other lco eqpmt mainly) but when you narrow your search to what you are realy looking for, it may be slim pickings.

Just wondering if their is any other marketplace on the web for this kind of stuff?

I've bought three mowers, a snow plow and a few other misc. things off e-bay, and have had very good luck every time. Maybe look in local newspapers, and equitment trader style magazines for equiptment. In the midwest there is a chain of magazines called Auto & RV, which always has a good selection of everything from pick-up trucks & trailers, to ZTRs and even heavy equiptment. Maybe look for something similar in your area.

Find a specialty paper that list a lot of auctions. Look for estate sales VS consignment. In the same paper you will find ads for "farm equipment" dealers. They often have ads for lawn and garden equipment also.

I have bought and sold mowers and equipment on Ebay. Nothing terrible happened though usually the seller is deceptive in at least small areas. Examples:

1. Seller of Toro midsize wb failed to mention that safety bail no longer worked due to the fact that he had jury rigged the wiring to fix it. He also failed to put the mower back together after he did a partial disassembly to look at the transmission, which he had disclosed was broken. The moron shipped it on a pallet with the loose parts. Some of them obviously were missing upon delivery. He also shipped it to the wrong depot and it took some work to locate it, including a wasted 2 hour trip for me.

2. Seller (dealer) of new Toro 21" mower touted a $40 rebate that had expired by the time the mower arrived. He'll either send me $40 or get a nice negative feedback.

3. Buyer bid and won on a Toro 36" wb of mine. Velke was in photo but stated in auction it was NOT included. He got to my place and wanted the velke thrown in. Claimed he couldn't read English well. I sold it to him for just $100 since I got a good price on the mower. I had used it 4 or 5 years and sold it for $200 more than I paid for it!

4. Seller sold me a Toro 44" hydro wb whose hydro had a partially stripped out adjustment knob. Worked fine till I needed to adjust it, then it completely failed. $700 repair. They also knew the mower was jumpy as heck, but didn't bother to mention it in the ad.

So, don't expect miracles or perfection. Ebay today is much more full of con men and criminals. So beware. Nigerians run scams on Ebay, according to a radio consumer show I heard yesterday. Buying or selling, be very wary. Lack of details almost always means they're hiding something. People with good products are proud to say so. Never buy from someone with low feedback unless you feel lucky.

I only would buy from someone close enough that I could inspect the machine before handing over payment, and then only when I got enough off "retail" to pay for a major problem. But I prefer to buy new.

Remember, people who have great mowers they love using rarely sell them. They may have a "reason" listed for selling (lost an account is the big one) but that may not be the case. You also cannot trust hour meters to be accurate.

READ the feedback too. See if they built it up selling beanie babies or big ticket items. Some people will get 50 feedback, then "score" by ripping you off and not care if they get 1 negative feedback.